HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS USED IN RESEARCH 303 
EXAMPLE 4. SITUATION AT THE J. HILLIS MILLER HEALTH CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF 
FLORIDA 
The Animal Welfare Committee of the Florida Federation of Humane So- 
cieties contacted the administrators of the J. Hillis Miller Health Center as soon 
as ground was broken for the medical school. The committee offered its co- 
operation in reference to the housing of the laboratory animals and indicated 
its interest in seeing that the animal quarters met the standards accepted as 
providing the most comfortable housing for said animals. 
It developed that proponents of cages for all animals, including dogs and cats, 
had influenced the planners and that the ground-floor rooms were to be lined 
with double-decked cages, the exercise areas being limited to the floorspace in 
the rooms, during the time the cages were being cleaned. Stock animals were 
to be housed here as well as those in use. Without going into detail about the 
many conferences and the unsatisfactory experiences of the administration, the 
scientists, and the animal handlers, with this type of housing, let us turn to the 
present situation. No stock animals are kept in the medical building, except 
rabbits and rodents. Instead, modern and comfortable kennel-type quarters have 
been built at “the farm,” property owned by the university about 2 miles from 
the school. The cages in the school building are now used for convalescent 
animals under the watchful eye of a fine humane veterinarian. The only long- 
term dog residents in the school building are about 30 beagles being used in a 
research project. The beagles are housed in rooms, not cages. However, these 
indoor, windowless rooms do not approximate normal living for the dogs. It 
was hoped that the walls of the building could be opened and kennel runs pro- 
vided for these beagles, but the architects and the administrators would not 
agree to this. In July 1957 we held a conference with one of the professors on 
the curriculum committee regarding a possible seminar for students on the care 
and use of laboratory animals. At that time, this professor stated that, as 
most students had recently come from homes where they had had pets, each 
student had a compassionate attitude toward the animals assigned to them. 
But, he said, the ones to watch were the graduate scientists who became so 
involved with their research projects, that they spared neither themselves nor 
their animals, in pursuing their objectives. The health center insisted on hu- 
mane practices but it was impossible to keep track of all the scientists and he 
knew there were lapses. 
In 1959 the veterinarian above mentioned was employed. He has keys to all 
laboratories and administrative permission to enter at any time of day or night 
to check on the welfare of any animal being used. 
A recovery room with a registered nurse in attendance has been instituted. 
Animals used by scientists are cared for in this room and then transferred to 
the cages below during convalescence for 24-hour attention by the veterinarian 
and his staff. When ablq, the animals are returned to “the farm.” All animals 
used for student practice are destroyed on the table before regaining con- 
sciousness. 
Among other humane procedures is the use of a statistician who determines 
the number of animals necessary to produce valid conclusions without the cruel 
waste of using more than necessary. Also, a laboratory technician does blood 
and other tests to insure that the animals used will provide valid results. Such 
technics reduce the number of animals needed and result in more scientifically 
accurate conclusions. To improve the care of the animals and thus the validity 
of any scientific experimentation, the veterinarian in charge holds semiweekly 
classes for all the staff that handle the animals. 
Unfortunately, the above description fits only a few laboratories. In too many 
laboratories, either from the cost motive, or ignorance of the importance of such 
procedures, and indifference to the physical and psychological needs of animals, 
conditions ranging from mediocre to bad exist. Even here, at the J. Hillis Miller 
Health Center, had there been mandatory standards in force at the time of plan- 
ning the school, and had qualified experts in veterinary medicine been used as 
consultants, much waste in animals, time, money, and energy could have been 
avoided. The steps since taken by farsighted administration have paid off in 
advantages to the animals used, and the reliability of research conclusions. 
It is sheer folly to think that satisfactory conditions will be instituted nation- 
ally without the pressure of legislation. Spokesmen for the unbridled use of 
laboratory animals are trying too desperately to put blinders on the eyes of the 
public to expect improvement without mandatory legislation. 
